Charge to be introduced for garden waste collections in Northampton

A garden waste charge is to be introduced by Northampton Borough Council

An annual charge of around £42 per bin or 100 sack labels, is proposed to start from April 6 next year as Northampton Borough Council ‘can no longer afford to run the service free of charge’.

Council leader Jonathan Nunn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It’s been a painful process and we have spoken about it several years on the trot. But once you do the statutory stuff and all the demand led stuff, there’s only so many levers left to pull. Last year it was the car parking.”

The borough council is now holding a consultation to gain an insight into how many residents would subscribe to the service and what suggestions residents might have about the service.

It is estimated that about a third of the borough currently uses the service. Those who sign up to the subscription service would receive fortnightly garden waste bin collections or those using sacks, the equivalent of two black sacks collected a week, across 50 weeks of the year. A two week break in the collections is planned each January to allow for the free collection of Christmas trees and additional recycling from the festive season.

Residents with larger gardens can purchase subscriptions for more than one bin or for extra black sack labels.

Councillor Nunn added: “We know that the decision to charge for garden waste collections will not be popular, however with government funding reducing year on year, we’ve found it increasingly challenging to deliver the service free of charge.

“We’ve suggested introducing an opt-in service from April for around £42 a year, which provides residents with fortnightly collections at less than £2 per collection.

“We now want to consult with residents about suggestions in relation to the service including the finer details, before it is introduced.”

The survey will close at midnight on Friday 24 January and can be accessed at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/gardenwastecollections

Paper copies of the survey are also available on request by emailing [email protected]